SpaceX prepares to send first commercial capsule to space station
MAY 02, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026019
Washington Post : The first launch of a privately designed and built spacecraft to carry supplies to the International Space Station is scheduled for Monday, although it may be delayed to allow for additional testing. Commercial space company SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, has been working with NASA to ready its unmanned Dragon capsule to carry 500 kilograms of food, water, and other cargo to the 16-nation outpost. The original plan was to try a simple flyby of the station, but with the retiring of the space shuttle program last year, SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk asked to try an actual docking. If the flight is successful, it will improve SpaceX’s chance of eventually ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
